After having heard all the hype about this singer/songwriter in the past few months, I, too, have jumped on the bandwagon for the wonderful artist that is Regina Spektor. Call me unoriginal, but Spektor is good, end of story.

Begin to Hope is Spektor’s fourth release. The style on this album is a merging of simple electric beats with an alternative/pop sound on some tracks and a more classical sound on others, all with Spektor’s own twist. Her exceptional talent as a singer, pianist and songwriter is apparent in the entirety of Begin to Hope.

I could easily list every track of the 12 on the album as the best, but the more notable tracks are the upbeat “”Better,”” “”On the Radio”” and “”20 Years of Snow,”” which is a beautiful fuse of her strong voice and classical piano.

Her songs have meaning, her lyrics are powerful and her voice is always changing – sometimes jazzy, sometimes just talking, but always excellent. She’s cutesy but not too cutesy, weird but not too weird and yet her talent is always pervasive. Begin to Hope, like its name, is simply put a mostly refreshing, optimistic and distinctive album.

-Amy Wieseneck